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08 February 2012

Answer to Question #7179 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Nuclear Medicine Patient Issues — Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

When you receive an iodine-131 therapy dose for remnant thyroid cancer, you are asked to drink lots of fluid to rid yourself of the radioactive material faster through your urine.

If you want to get rid of the iodine quicker, why won't nuclear medicine doctors and endocrinologists give continuing intravenous (IV) fluids to increase urine output and thus lower bladder dose in the first 24 to 48 hours? Won't IV fluids increase the biological half-life?

Drinking lots of fluids yourself works just as well as IVs, but with IVs, you need to be an inpatient. It's also uncomfortable, expensive (being an inpatient), and restricting (ever try to take a shower?), not to mention the problems caused by infiltration and occasional infection.

Carol S. Marcus, PhD, MD

Answer posted on 11 March 2008. The information and material posted on this website is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Website. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.